The Vietnam Memoriallists the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died overseas. However, the wall does not document any names of the estimated 2.8 million U.S. vetswho were exposed to the poisonous chemical while serving and later died.

Vietnam War veterans search for names on the Vietnam War Memorial as thousands of bikers and military veterans take part in the 31st annual Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom motorcycle parade in Washington DC, on May 27, 2018. - Wearing bandanas, cowboy hats or gleaming helmets, tens of thousands of bikers descended on Washington Sunday to parade in honor of US soldiers missing in action in foreign wars, a now 30-year-old tradition known as 'Rolling Thunder.' (Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP) (Photo credit should read ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty Images)

The Gruesome Legacy

In total, the U.S. sprayed more than 20 million gallonsof various herbicides over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from 1961 to 1971. However, according to the EPA, Agent Orange, which contains the poisonous chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used. And among those who were lucky enough to survive the trenches of Vietnam, the health issues – now generations later – have been a living nightmare. Agent Orange is linked to serious health issues including cancers, severe psychological and neurological problems, and birth defects, both among the Vietnamese people and the men and women of the U.S. military.

Vo Nhat Truyen, 30, who suffer from the affects of Agent Orange leans on the shoulder of a US Navy sailor during a visit by the crew of USS Carl Vinson in Danang on March 7, 2018. The US Navy's aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) arrived for a four-day port call to the central city of Danang for a highly symbolic trip that includes a visit to a centre for victims of Agent Orange. The US dropped more than 21 million gallons of the chemical, a defoliant containing dioxin used to strip jungle cover and destroy food crops as a means to expose the enemy, during the Vietnam war. Officials in Hanoi say that up to three million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic mix of chemicals which causes cancer, birth defects and neurological disease. / AFP PHOTO / Linh PHAM (Photo credit should read LINH PHAM/AFP/Getty Images)

What they mean by that, is not only cleaning up the mess that has persisted for individuals and communities, but to begin the bilateral healing process by having the uncomfortable conversations that the American military refused to have. Lucky for them, the State Department, USAID, and Congress – specifically Senator Patrick J. Leahy(D-VT) agree. He stated on record that his goal is to, “Turn Agent Orange from being a symbol of antagonism and resentment into another example of the U.S. and Vietnamese governments working together to address one of the most difficult and emotional legacies of war.”

Hanoi, VIET NAM: Dr Le Ke Son (R), Head of Office 33 (in charge of research on dioxine) of the Environment Ministry speaks as US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine looks on during a joint press conference, 09 February 2007 in Hanoi where Marine announced a 400,000 US dollar grant to Vietnam for environmental clean-up work related to the wartime use of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange. AFP PHOTO/HOANG DINH Nam (Photo credit should read HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)

Emotion Meets Action

Dioxin is highly toxic (even in minute doses) and accumulates in fatty tissue. Thus, fish, birds and other animals have kept Agent Orange chemical compounds in their bodies for years - as well as continue to eat from the lands and waterways that were directly doused in Agent Orange. Because of this, most human exposure to these lethal carcinogens is now via foods. This has caused significant diplomatic and global health troubles between our countries.

While the U.S. has aimed for decades to mend relations with the Vietnamese, our refusal to talk about the repercussions of our earlier military actions has been a huge hindrance. That is, until the last few years. Thanks to former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) who sponsored the Agent Orange Act of 1991, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2015 had paid $24 billion in disability compensation to 1.3 million veterans who served in our armed forces sometime during the Vietnam era. Both the Obama Administration and the Trump Administration have supported Congress in its efforts to address the genetic consequences that Agent Orange has caused our two countries.

By recognizing that those who have died of dioxin-related health issues are casualties of war, and the cultural, economic and diplomatic consequences of wartime actions, the U.S. has also taken major steps to help clean up the three confirmed residual hot stops in Vietnam. Former American military bases and the Da Nang Airporthave been the primary targets. And, thankfully by the middle of 2017, in line with Senator Leahy’s united vision, Da Nang Airport was dioxin free.

While they did not die on the battlefield in Vietnam, the deadly repercussions of Agent Orange have known no boundaries. So this Memorial Day, as we observe our fallen men and women through public ceremony or private prayer, let’s be sure to think about allof the military lives lost because of war.